Issues when moving to all electric towcars
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There needs to be a radical rethink by vehicle makers ,to enable standard type and fitting of Batts to EVs,and all standard power and sizes for every vehicle
at this time it seems every vehicle has it own type/size of battery depending on what the vehicle is used for
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Batteries will be disposed of in the same way as now as will whole cars when they reach the end of their lives. No change really.
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The battery exchange idea was trued by Renault on the BEV Influence, i am sure we are all aware what a stunning commercial success that has been and how it influenced.... other car makers to adopt the idea. It is utterly bonkers, like saying all ICE cars should have the same engine. Shows a complete lack of understanding of technology, commercial enterprise and the benefits of competition. Even communist China doesn’t promote that.
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You obviously haven't had to shell out for a replacement rear light recently have you? A multiplicity of different styling designs for a bit of 50p plastic that usually costs £20-30. Interchangeability? I don't see it happening.
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Alko, Dethleffs and an Australian company has already demonstrated electrically assisted caravan chassis.
I think if there's a a demand and the price / performance an ecaravan stacks up we may see them. Of course this would be a new type of powered vehicle so new type approval and road traffic legislation may be needed making it more complex and expensive for manufacturers.
The key factor will be if battery energy density increases at a sufficient rate. Around 3 times current density would give a towcar range performance comparable to ice vehicles. There's a lot of research efforts going into this so there's probably improvement to come (trends below) If this is achieved caravan design could carry on as is which is why there are only demo ecaravans so far.
https://www.alko-tech.com/uk/next-generation-trailer-platform
https://newatlas.com/dethleffs-electric-coco-caravan/56056/
https://www.gorv.com.au/world-first-hybrid-drive-caravan-system/
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Interesting article here, if anyone is interested.....
https://cleantechnica.com/2021/03/12/audi-e-tron-tesla-model-3-towing-large-small-caravan/
David
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Interesting test. Looks like the range of both cars is around 120-130 miles albeit on a flat road. Which kind of confirms that the batteries need 3x nominal capacity to match ICE range on realistic terrains.
Battery capacity has tripled in the last 12 years or so, same again and no need for electrically assisted caravans.
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Government has just announced it is cutting the electric car subsidy to £2500 and limiting the grant to cars under £35000 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56441639 That won't help the change over to electric cars, especially tow cars!!!
David
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Do the tests with a caravan on the hook give at what speed they were testing MPC when towing? as was in my company magazine most high miles per charge were at 30kph solo,when it got to motor way speeds it was a very different story , for every hour of M/way driving it would need 70mins charge
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Brue
It seems that it was the Government intention to gradually reduce the subsidy. The lower figure of £35000 and no subsidy above that is interesting as most of the smaller cars I have looked at seem to cost around that figure anyway. Maybe, just maybe, it will encourage manufacturers to revisit their price list? That might not happen because the demand for new electric cars is quite strong coupled with waiting lists for some models. I will have to wait a bit longer before I change!
David
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I am all for cutting the subsidy. If the virtue signallers who drive EV’s are so allegedly concerned with climate change why do they need subsidising? Someone who can afford a £40/50/70k plus car doesn't need subsidising. Most if not all are bought as company purchases with huge tax offset. Or, is it simply driving them for the tax breaks.....
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I don't like being called a virtue signaller!
(That's a new one, I've grown used to derogative comments about owning an EV..)However, our car is paying for itself now in the savings on fuel costs. I would expect others to find this out for themselves in the future.
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So do you drive an EV because of climate concerns or because it runs on relatively cheap untaxed fuel? Straight forward question and You cannot answer ‘both’! Subsidies come out of all of our pockets including the very many who earn below average wages but still pay tax and still pay climate subsidies through their electricity bills. Please explain How is it equitable that poorer people subsidise wealthier people? I am no anti capitalist but i am not in favour of returning to a system such only the wealthy can afford a car. It will end in tears.
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Flatcoat. Perhaps you didn't read my post where I said our car was a pre-reg and didn't qualify for any subsidies at all. OH installed the charge point himself from an ebay purchase. We made a decision to give it a go and four years down the line we're ok about it as a viable form of transport.
I'm not on CT to defend or promote EV use but as we have one I'm happy to respond to anything reasonable that comes up.
As purchases of EVs go up, the costs will come down.
The idea behind EVs is to reduce the use of dwindling stocks of fossil fuels and conserve energy for future generations. I can see the logic in that too.
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Flatcoat
I am not sure how much investigation you have done on the price of EV's but the new, lower, threshold for the grant is set so that people who can afford to buy the more expensive brands no longer get any subsidy. When I have looked at prices of EV's, anywhere near what I could possibly afford, they seem range from around £28000 to nearer the new subsidy limit of £35000.As a result I doubt I will be buying an EV anytime soon as I feel the investment is far too high for the use I would give it so I wouldn't have any meaningful advantage of savings in running costs. Using subsidies has been used for years to change behaviour, perhaps where the Government has gone wrong is that it has not increased fuel duty inline with inflation for at least 10 years. If it is serious about persuading the public to buy EV's it has to wean the public off ICE vehicles and subsidies is one way of doing it and making ICE vehicles more expensive to own is another. Something has got to change for the 2030 change over to be a success.
David
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It will end in tears
Absolutely 1000% agree. The removal of the grant demonstrates just how commited the government are to this nonsensical, idealistic dream of a non-fossil fuelled environment. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for it and for "saving the planet" but if you think that our little tiny island, switching to electric powered vehicles is going to solve, or even put a dent in the problem, it's not. There's a much bigger picture which needs looking at. Can you imagine the USA switching to all electric? How about Russia, China, India and of course Africa? I'll wager all our fossil fuelled, ICE cast offs will be snapped up and used for centuries to come in Africa alone. (Then the world will run out of vegetable oil). Currently, we cant even dispose of plastic which is littering the planet, let alone put the infrastructure in place to sustain a global electric driven society. As Flatcoat suggests, it'll end in tears.
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and making ICE vehicles more expensive to own is another. Something has got to change for the 2030 change over to be a success.
So basically make it more expensive to rum an ICE vehicle for the ones who can not afford to purchase an Electric vehicle.
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It will end in tears
So we will just ignore it.🤔At least the dinosaurs had an excuse for becoming extinct.☄️
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My brother has just swapped his Merc C180 for an e-Niro. He does fairly limited mileage so fuel savings aren't that significant. It is the more powerful battery pack version. Only the cheapest model comes under the £35K limit. It's hardly a "luxury" vehicle so the Government move seems unlikely to encourage the change.
ISTR reading a couple of years back that the overall carbon footprint is lowest driving a 25 year old diesel Land Rover! Our runabout is an eight year old i20 and, with an annual mileage around 3-4000, it certainly isn't cost effective to go for an electric car despite having a roof full of solar.
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+1, I’m thinking that needing a new Planet because we’ve bust this one could bring on tears too🤷🏻♂️. In city centres folk are losing their lives due to increased exhaust particulates destroying their lungs☹️
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It seems fairly obvious, that as the move to electric increases, not only will the subsidy be removed, but new taxing will come in to replace the current fuel taxes. If, as seems likely, there will be a huge investment in a workable infrastructure, putting enough charging points around the country, I am sure taxes will become even higher than now.
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